


The Bath

by Aglarien



Series: Enough for Tonight [7]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 04:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4376513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aglarien/pseuds/Aglarien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Glorfindel's day to take care of the elflings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bath

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: Written for the Lotrallslash Daily Drabble. 3-27-06 "Water" Part of the "Enough for Tonight" universe. This is a little scene I've wanted to write for a long time.

Disclaimer: Not mine, except for the cats. The great Master Tolkien's estate owns everything else. I promise to return his elves when I'm done playing with them. 

Glorfindel sang as he bathed little Faelion. The elfling laughed and splashed, and as unusual, it seemed that there was more water on the floor and on Glorfindel than on the elfling - not that his Ada Glor cared about that. He loved bathing Faelion, and after the elfling had discovered the mud in their garden, he certainly had needed a bath. Their little one was just over one year old, and was already running and talking like mad.

Neither Glorfindel nor Erestor could live with the idea of having their three elflings cared for by others every day while they worked, so they devised a plan where they each worked three days out of seven while the other cared for the elflings; each seventh day the family spent together.  
Today it was Glorfindel's day to care for their children while Erestor attended a meeting with the ambassador from Lorien. Gailion and Amdiriel were still with Melpomaen learning their reading and writing, but would be back for their midday meal.

"There's my clean little elfling again," Glorfindel declared, lifting their youngest from the now dingy water. Faelion squealed with laughter as his ada tossed him up in the air and caught him again. He wrapped the elfling in a thick towel, then carried him into the bedroom and set him in front of the fire. "Wait here for me, little one, while Ada cleans up the bath, then we'll get dressed and get ready for lunch with your brother and sister, all right?"

"All right, Ada Glor," the elfling answered, reaching for the long-suffering Tinnu, who was napping with his mate Glirien in front of the fire. He dragged the large black cat close, and his little hands began to stroke the soft fur - backwards. Glirien opened an eye at the loss of the warm body beside her, but seeing the elfling, she simply went back to sleep. 

"Watch Faelion for me, Tinnu," Glorfindel said, grinning at the elfling and the cat before returning to the bathroom to clean up their mess. Singing once again, he grabbed some towels to sop up the water covering the floor.

After petting the cat for a few minutes, Faelion decided he wanted to see his Ada Restor. He loved his Ada Glor, but his other Ada was special. Very special. "Ada Glor, going to see Ada now," he called. Pushing Tinnu aside, he said, "Stay, Tinnu," and scurried to the outer door. If he stood on tiptoe, he could just reach the latch, and it only took a moment before he was running through the halls, laughing and skipping his way to his Ada's office, a black cat running behind him.

Glorfindel closed the water taps he had been running to rinse the bathtub, still singing merrily, and not hearing a thing out of the ordinary.

Glirien opened her eyes at Tinnu's frenzied meow and watched her mate streak out of the door after the elfling. Lifting her heavily pregnant body off of the floor, she waddled into the bathroom and meowed, touching Glorfindel's hand with her white-mitten paw to get his attention. 

"Hello, sweetheart," Glorfindel said softly, stroking the soft gray and white animal. "Did we wake you up?"

Glirien meowed loud and long, and waddled back to the bedroom, turning back to see if Glorfindel was following.

Lifting an eyebrow, Glorfindel tossed the towels he was using into the basket for laundry and followed the cat into the empty bedroom. "Faelion," he called, "where are you little one?" And then he saw the open door. Heedless of his still wet clothing, he rushed out into the hall just in time to see a black tail disappear around a far corner and a trail of water from the elfling's still dripping hair.

Faelion pushed the door of his Ada's office open, and found it empty. He was just going to call out when he heard voices talking in the next room. Grinning and giggling, he pushed the door to the other room open, and squealed, "Ada!" when he saw Erestor sitting at the end of a long table.

Elrond covered his mouth with his hand to hide his grin and raised his eyebrows at Erestor. 

Erestor was out of his seat in a flash and hurrying to his little one. Tinnu ran interference and tackled the elfling to the ground just as Faelion approached the table. 

Landing on his behind, Faelion giggled and held his arms out to Erestor. "Wanted to see you, Ada," he grinned.

The Lorien ambassador grinned at the elfling, then calmly spoke. "Is it the habit of your realm to allow wet little elflings to run around unclothed, Lord Elrond? A new method drying them perhaps?"

Elrond lost his battle to hold his laughter in and laughed until his sides ached. "Not at all, my dear Ambassador," he finally managed to get out. "Only little elflings who just had a bath and manage to escape their minder."

"What are you doing here, sweetling?" Erestor asked, picking up his youngest son and wrapping him in the folds of his robes, just as a soggy, out of breath Glorfindel burst into the room. 

"Wanted to see you, Ada," Faelion said, wrapping his little arms around Erestor's neck and planting a loud, sloppy kiss on his Ada's cheek. "Missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetling," Erestor whispered, kissing his golden-haired elfling on the brow, "but you were supposed to stay with Ada Glor this morning."

"Have you met Lord Glorfindel yet, Haldir?" Elrond asked. "He captains our forces admirably and sees to the valley's security, but apparently has not yet learned everything there is to know about elflings."


End file.
